Chiswick Battens Down the Hatches for Storm Darragh
Parks shut, markets cancelled as high winds hit
Tree hits wall of Chiswick House Gardens during a storm in 2013. Picture: @ruduss
December 8, 2024
Storm Darragh has required a battening down of the hatches across Chiswick over the weekend as winds of over 40mph hit the area.
This Sunday, the Dukes Meadows Food Market has been cancelled along with the Chiswick Antiques and Vintage market in the centre of town.
Chiswick House Gardens has been shut over the weekend although Kew Gardens has only announced that it will be closing on Saturday (7 December). Christmas at Kew was also cancelled in the evening and Kew Gardens says that ticketing providers will be in touch with more information.
The winds picked up in the early hours of Saturday and have remained consistently strong since with abatement now expected sometime around noon on Sunday. The Met Office has said that a characteristic of Storm Darragh is that it is slow moving hence the prolonged unsettled weather.
For the second time in recent weeks, Chiswick House Gardens is to be closed to visitors over the weekend and it means that the Christmas market has been cancelled and Storytelling with Santa sessions are no longer taking place.
Rosie Fyles, Head of Gardens, explained, "‘It is frustrating to be closing the gardens again when a busy, festive weekend is planned and I am sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment this will cause, not least to those expecting to meet Father Christmas. It is just three weeks since we had to close in November.
"The predicted wind speeds over the whole weekend are well over the ‘safe to open’ range and for this reason – the responsible management of risk to anybody visiting the site – we are left with the only option to close.
"Autumn and early winter storms are not unusual. What is unprecedented is their current frequency, the severity of the wind speeds and how long storm conditions are lasting. I cannot remember a time when wind gust speeds of over 50mph are expected to be sustained for over 24 hours. This storm will be a significant test of the health of our trees and the stability of our historic buildings and statues.
"We are doing all we can to ensure that we follow best practice and apply the latest learning as conditions change quickly and our seasons become more unpredictable. We undertake a formal review of our extreme weather policy annually, liaising with compatible sites and sharing knowledge.
"The last weekend storm did not cause major damage. It offered up many new sticks to our dog library. We will assess the situation on Monday morning when the garden team undertakes its ‘safe to open’ review. Hopefully, we will be able to open the gates wide again very quickly for Christmas to begin properly."
Nearby resident Dara O’Briain quipped that he knew the day would come when he had a storm named after him as the Irish and British Met Offices alternate in picking them.
If you there are any other events or venues affected by the storm this weekend, please let us know by emailing editor@chiswickw4.com.
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